Education at UAB

Big picture

Enrollment at UAB has set new records for four consecutive years, with a combined graduate and undergraduate enrollment of 17,999. “Those students are attracted by the reputations of our world-class programs,” says President Watts.

“What do you want to know today?”Undergraduate student Jenifer Montejo studies at Sterne Library. The newly renovated building models the 21st-century learning experience: It features dozens of collaborative learning spaces; abundant plugs throughout for charging phones, tablets, and laptops; and an ebook collection surpassing 60,000 volumes. Plus there’s a Starbucks in the lobby for those all-important study breaks.Through its 10 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences, UAB offers a total of 137 degrees, several of which—including biomedical engineering and industrial distribution—are unique in Alabama.

In the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of America’s top graduate schools, UAB had several programs among the nation’s top 10—including health-care management, primary care, AIDS, nursing service administration, and nursing practitioner (adult)—and 14 programs in the top 25.

Undergraduates can take advantage of accelerated learning opportunities in UAB’s Honors College, which has served as a national model of integrative learning and experiential education for more than 25 years. They can also expand their horizons by meeting fellow students from more than 100 nations on campus. For four consecutive years, UAB has been named among the top 10 universities nationally for diversity by The Princeton Review.

UAB’s classrooms don’t end at the edge of campus. The university currently has 11 fully online programs, including bachelor’s degrees in accounting and health information management; master’s degrees in accounting, nursing, health informatics, and engineering; and certificates in public health and low vision rehabilitation.

Close-up

Learn why UAB students regularly earn top scholarships in “Winning Team,” a UAB Magazine feature on the university’s proven system to help students get the funding they need to follow their dreams:

“'..I was being quizzed by UAB alumni who had already won these awards,” says Kimberly Everett, who was a 2011 Truman Scholar and winner of the Thomas Pickering Foreign Affairs Scholarship.

'Akofa Bonsi, who won the Truman in 2004, was probably the best and the worst thing that ever happened to me,” Everett says. “She was very tough on me in the mock interviews, but it was all about preparing me for the real thing.

'She actually drove me up to my interviews in Nashville, and we talked the whole way about what to expect...'” Read more

Lister Hill Library director T. Scott Plutchak explains why “this is the best time to be a librarian in 500 years” in “Turning a Page,” a UAB Magazine feature on the role of libraries in the 21st century:

"...T. Scott Plutchak doesn’t believe the library is an endangered species. In fact, 'this is the best time to be a librarian in 500 years,' says the director of UAB’s Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.

'Increasingly, our role is to help people navigate the information space quickly and efficiently,' and the digital world brings new opportunities to 'connect people with the recorded information they need to solve problems, improve their lives, or be entertained...'" Read more